Undergraduate Research Poster Presentations

Biology Research Poster Guidelines

The space provided for the display of posters is 46 x 46 inches. All of the poster materials must fit in this space, although The Loyola Digital Media Lab can print posters with one maximum dimension of 42 inches (height or width). The cost of printing by the DML is very reasonable. Their website is http://www.luc.edu/digitalmedia/printingscanning/posterprinting/. It is recommended that the poster be prepared as a large PowerPoint slide. You are free to design your own template in Powerpoint. Free poster templates can also be downloaded from several websites, e.g.http://www.posterpresentations.com/html/free_poster_templates.html; http://www.makesigns.com/SciPosters_Templates.aspx; http://www.genigraphics.com/templates/; or use a poster from your lab as a template. However, note the size restrictions—some posters were designed for other symposia and conferences. The hallways on the second, third, and fourth floors of the Quinlan Life Sciences Building are lined with student posters. You can also get some good formatting ideas from these posters as well as a feel for the importance of making liberal use of visual images.

Your poster must include the following information prominently displayed across the top in font size of least 54 pt:

Title of the project.

Your name and the names of any co-authors (and their affiliations if they are not in the Loyola Biology Department).

Name of your research advisor (if not listed as a co-author) and affiliation if he/she is not in the Loyola Biology Department.

All text should be presented in a font of at least 24 pt (preferably ≥28 pt) so that it can be read from a distance of a few feet. Suggested font sizes for subheadings: 32–44 pt. Each poster should be organized to include the following sections:

An Abstract of 150 to 200 words summarizing the aims, hypothesis, results, and conclusions.

An Introduction to the topic.

A short synopsis of the Methods used to generate the data.

Results and Conclusions (can be in separate sections)

A list of Citations referenced in the poster and Acknowledgements of personnel and funding sources.

Make liberal use of illustrations, data figures, and tables with captions that enable the reader to visualize your project and to interpret the data shown.

Posters formatted for the LUROP Symposium meet the above standards.

Poster mounting boards will be provided and set-up by the Biology Department. Pushpins will be available for mounting your poster onto the board.